Business

Dangote, Adenuga, Rabiu, Otedola remain on forbes Africa’s billionaires List

Published

1 year ago

March 30, 2025

544 Views

Nigeria’s wealthiest businessmen, Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Abdulsamad Rabiu, and Femi Otedola, have emerged as the only Nigerians on the 2025 ‘Africa’s Billionaires List’ compiled by Forbes, which was released on Saturday.

Once again, Dangote topped the list for the 14th consecutive year, with an estimated net worth of $23.9 billion, up from $13.9 billion a year ago.

The significant jump in his fortune was primarily due to Forbes factoring in the value of his refinery.

The Dangote Group operates in diverse sectors, including cement, sugar, flour, salt, seasoning, pasta, beverages, real estate, and projects in oil & gas and fertiliser.

On the other hand, Adenuga, who ranked fifth on the list, had $6.8 billion in his portfolio during the period under review, while Rabiu was worth $5.1 billion.

Adenuga runs the Pan-African telecommunications company, Globacom, while Rabiu owns the BUA Group, with interests in cement, sugar, oil, and other sectors.

Nigerian business mogul and philanthropist Otedola emerged as the 16th richest person in Africa on the Forbes list, with his wealth surging by over 30 per cent in the last year.

In the newly released list, Forbes stated that Otedola’s wealth reached $1.5 billion during the period, making him one of the fastest-growing billionaires, second only to Johann Rupert of South Africa, whose fortune grew by 39 per cent.

A prominent Nigerian businessman, Otedola has established and led several companies across various sectors, with many notable enterprises associated with his name.

Checks revealed that some of these include Geregu Power Plc, the first electricity-generating company in Nigeria to be listed on the Nigerian Exchange in October 2022, where he serves as Chairman.

Additionally, he is the Chairman of First Holdco Plc, formerly FBN Holdings Plc, a financial holding company that serves as the parent company for a diversified group of financial services businesses, including commercial banking, merchant banking, capital markets, trusteeship, and insurance brokerage, operating across Africa.

A dedicated philanthropist, Otedola has been a significant supporter of Save the Children, donating billions of naira and earning a Vice President role in recognition of his efforts to improve the lives of children in Nigeria.

Save the Children is an organisation that works to support vulnerable children worldwide.

“Another billionaire whose fortune grew by more than 30 per cent was Femi Otedola of Nigeria ($1.5 billion), chairman of listed power generation firm Geregu Power Plc.

Shares of Geregu surged by approximately 40 per cent in the past year following a rise in revenue and profits,” the Forbes report stated.

The Forbes list tracks the wealth of African billionaires who reside in Africa or have their primary business there.

Net worths were calculated using stock prices and currency exchange rates as of the close of business on 7 March 2025.

Forbes noted that net worth changes were measured from its 2024 African billionaires list, published in January 2024. To value privately held businesses, Forbes starts with estimates of revenues or profits and applies prevailing price-to-sales or price-to-earnings ratios for comparable public companies.

Similarly, the report highlighted that the cumulative wealth of Africa’s billionaires surpassed $100 billion for the first time, as the continent’s 22 billionaires saw their combined fortunes rise to $105 billion, up from $82.4 billion and 20 billionaires last year.

South Africa had the highest number of billionaires this year, with seven, followed by Nigeria and Egypt, with four billionaires each.

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Business

Naira Exchange Rates Friday, 3 July 2026

Published

2 days ago

July 3, 2026

OCHEFA

35 Views

BLACK MARKET RATES

US DOLLAR (USD) Buy ₦1, 397 Sell ₦1,405

GREAT BRITISH POUND (GBP) Buy ₦1,850 Sell: ₦1,865

EURO (EUR) Buy ₦1, 580 Sell ₦1,600

CANADIAN DOLLAR (CAD) Buy ₦1,030 Sell ₦1,100

SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) Buy ₦75 Sell ₦90

UAE DIRHAM Buy ₦350 Sell ₦370

CHINESE YUAN Buy ₦180 Sell ₦200

GHANA CEDI (GHS) Buy ₦95 Sell ₦110

WEST AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2, 380 Sell ₦2, 460

CENTRAL AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2, 220 Sell 2,300

AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Buy ₦800 Sell ₦900

CBN OFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATES

US DOLLAR (USD) ₦1,370.15

GREAT BRITISH POUND (GBP) ₦1,832.17

EURO (EUR) ₦1,568.28

SWISS FRANC (CHF) ₦1,1705.44

JAPANESE YEN (JPN) ₦8. 51

CHINESE YUAN (CNY) ₦201. 80

WEST AFRICAN CFA (XOF) ₦2.38

WEST AFRICAN UNIT ACCOUNT (WAUA) ₦1,859. 98

SAUDI RIYAL (SAR) ₦364.91

SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) ₦84. 32

Business

Issue: Cloning Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC)

Published

4 days ago

July 2, 2026

OCHEFA

54 Views

The Presidency says the bodies allegedly used by Adeyemi—including the so-called Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, and Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council—do not exist as government agencies.

The Presidency says a man identified as Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew allegedly created and operated fake government agencies, forged appointment letters, and falsely claimed to have been appointed by Femi Gbajabiamila.
According to the statement:
The Office of the Chief of Staff discovered the alleged scheme after complaints from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) that an unauthorized body was operating in a way that conflicted with its functions.

The Chief of Staff petitioned the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force in October 2025 to investigate alleged forged appointment letters.

The Presidency says the bodies allegedly used by Adeyemi—including the so-called Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, and Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council—do not exist as government agencies.

Investigators allege Adeyemi operated from an office in the Federal Secretariat Complex, held meetings with diplomats, and sought diplomatic support to obtain U.S. visas for members of the alleged organization.
Police reportedly recovered forged documents and other exhibits during searches of his office and residence.

The investigation allegedly found that Adeyemi operated 34 bank accounts, including several in the names of fictitious organizations, and used forged documents to open a Central Bank of Nigeria account.

The Presidency says no government funds were paid into that account.
Police charged Adeyemi and two others before the Federal High Court on multiple counts, including forgery, impersonation, and obtaining by false pretence. The case is scheduled for hearing on July 27.

The Presidency also denied claims that Gbajabiamila appointed Adeyemi, stating that appointments to federal offices are issued through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, not the Office of the Chief of Staff.

Current status

The Presidency maintains that:
the agencies in question are fictitious,
the appointment letter was forged,
Adeyemi is an impostor,
and the allegations against him should be resolved by the court.

As the case is pending before the court, the allegations remain subject to judicial determination.